Scar Tissue
by Dr. Cameron
Summary: A possible outlook into Cameron's childhood. Each chapter is a different period in her life.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first oneshot, but what is probably going to happen is it will turn into a series of oneshots, if that makes any sense, all set in different time periods of Cameron's life. They are all what I believe happened to her, not just blind shots in the dark. I complied a list of all the things we've learnt about her past (which is more than you may think) and havedata to back up every scenario, so if you have questions about something, just ask. Reviews welcome:)

Disclaimer: Cameron and House, M.D. are not mine.

Alright, I'm gonna shut up now.

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Once Upon a Time there was a beautiful little girl who lived in a big house with two adoring parents. This little girl had everything she ever wanted, and more. Her parents were deeply in love with one another, and the little girl always thought that one day, when she got married, she wanted a marriage just like her parents.

But then something happened. A lot of somethings. One night the little girl couldn't get to sleep. She got out of bed to go downstairs to get a glass of water, but she never made it. Once she was at the top of the stairs, she heard the most horrific noise that had ever grazed her tiny, innocent little ears. It was a scream, a scream like no other. And it was her mother screaming. She rushed further down the staircase, but stopped when she heard more screaming. It was her father this time. The girl detected something in his voice that was different from her mother. Anger. She leaned forward until her parent's faces came into view. Her mother was standing in the living room, with tears running down her cheeks, and her father was standing across from her, his face redder than his daughter had ever seen it.

_Why are you doing this to me?_

_I'm not doing this to you! You did this to you!_

_What about Allie?_

_She's yours now._

With that, he turned and stormed out of the house, slamming the door so hard that the little girl jumped. She didn't know what to do; she sat there for a moment, the only noise in the room being her mother's crying, as she fell into a heap on the living room floor. Finally, the little girl decided she wasn't thirsty anymore and headed back to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next part. The first was when she was about 5, and this one is the rest of her preteen years.

Hope you like it! And please, please, read and review!

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She never really knew the woman's name. Her mother always referred to her as "the witch". They were never really in contact with them much either. They had their own life now. Separate from her father. Mother and daughter had moved back to mom's hometown. It was a small town, and they had settled in very nicely. What was nice about it was Allison's grandma was close by, and eventually moved in with them, when she got too old to maintain her own house.

The three women were a close knit family for many years. There weren't usually men in their lives, since Allie was too young, her grandmother too old, and her mother, who was just the right age, had sworn off men. They liked it that way, and they were happy.

Then he and the witch had a baby, and he wanted Allie to meet her. Her mother couldn't bear to take her to the hospital, so her grandmother volunteered.

When they got to the hospital, she saw her father standing outside the nursery, beaming from ear to ear. She tried to remember the last time he looked at her like that. She couldn't. He saw her and immediately went in and picked up the baby, bringing her outside to his older daughter. He leaned down to Allie's level.

_This is your sister_

He'd said it so proudly. Obviously, Allison hadn't been able to remember her own birth, but she didn't know if her father had been that happy then.

She peered down at the baby, and scrunched up her face. It was the strangest looking thing she'd ever seen. Her name was Carrie. Carrie Cameron. Apparently, her step mother liked the alliteration.

It was a very confusing time for Allison. She didn't know what her father wanted from her. Did he want to stay in her life and be the perfect father he had always been? Or did he want her out, gone completely, so he could ride off into the sunset with his new wife and new daughter? These were questions that she couldn't answer. She was only nine, and she was already dealing with things that were way beyond her comprehension.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, finally, part three! I actually tried to upload this on the weekend, but it absolutely would not work, and I just figured out how to resolve the problem now.**

**This part's really angsty, but I really do believe that Cameron's past _is_ really angsty. It's so obvious in everything she does.**

**Pleeeaaasssseeee R and R!**

By the time Allison reached her teenage years they had settled into a pretty nice life, the three of them. Allison loved her mother and grandmother dearly, and they all grew closer than they ever had been.

But then something happened. Again.

It was Friday, takeout night. Allison and her grandmother were sitting in the kitchen pouring over the gazillion takeout menus that the family owned, trying to decide what to order. They were currently in an argument between Chinese and Mexican, and Allison's mother was to have the deciding vote.

Getting impatient that her mother wasn't home from work yet, she was a real estate agent, the best in town, Allison called her on her cell. She got her voicemail and left a message.

Hey, Mom, hurry up and get your butt home! I don't know how much longer I can hold Grandma off.

_Hey! How do you know she's gonna side with you?_ Came a voice from the background.

_Because Mom has good taste_, Allison teased her grandmother, and then shrieked and ducked as grandma threw a spoon at her.

20 minutes later the phone rang. Her grandmother answered it, and immediately the smile faded from her face. Allison became concerned, and was barely able to control herself while her grandmother listened to the caller.

Oh, alright, thank you, we'll be right there 

_Grandma? What is it?_

_Get your coat, we're going out_

Allison tried to ask more questions the whole car ride, but her grandmother said nothing. Finally they pulled up at the hospital, and Allison grew even more terrified.

_It's your mother. They said she was in an accident_.

As soon as she uttered those words, Allison started to become less and less aware of the people and things around her. They moved through the hospital up to the ICU, but Allison didn't remember taking any steps.

The nurse directed them to her mother's room. And her grandmother placed a hand on her arm before she opened the door.

Honey, I want you to be prepared for what you're going to see in there. It's going to look really bad, and it's probably going to be confusing to you, but I don't want you to be afraid. It's not as bad as it looks. 

The thing was, it was as bad as it looked. When Allison walked into the room, she gasped. There she was, her mother. Her amazing, beautiful, full of life mother was lying so still in a hospital bed, hooked up to more machines than Allison could comprehend.

She went over to her and sat down in the chair. She didn't say anything; she just stared at her for a long time. Grandma pulled up a chair next to her, and they sat, in silence, and Allison was only mildly aware when her grandmother slipped her hand into hers, squeezing it tightly. Allison used her other hand to grab her mothers. She was amazed at how cold it felt. Her mom usually had the warmest hands of anyone she knew.

Eventually, a tall man in a white lab coat entered the room, and introduced himself as her mom's doctor. He wore a grim expression, which told Allison all she needed to know. He asked to speak to her grandmother in private, but she had responded by saying that anything they had to tell her, they could say in front of her granddaughter.

Her mom's condition wasn't good. She had been driving, and a truck had come out of nowhere and slammed into the driver's side of the car. Her mother had sustained severe brain injuries from when the car had been thrown, and it wasn't clear if she was going to make it.

They never did get around to ordering takeout. Allison and her grandmother had spent the rest of the evening by her mother's beside, and had only left to get a brief meal in the cafeteria. It was a salad or something, Allison couldn't remember. At some point, Allison fell asleep in the chair, and was awoken by her grandmother's soft nudging.

Allie, sweetie, let's go home, get some real rest 

Allison nodded and followed her out the door, taking one last glance at her mother. She had to pull through this, she had to.

About four hours later, Allie was once again awoken, but this time by a ringing. She forced herself to open her eyes and when she did, the ringing stopped. She waited for a minute, and then she heard her grandmother wail.

She rushed down the hall to her grandma's bedroom, and there she saw her sitting on the floor, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Immediately Allison knew what had happened. Her mother had died.

She ran to her grandmother's side and they threw their arms around each other and cried. They must have stayed there for hours, because eventually the sun came up, and her grandmother suggested that they get dressed.

Weekends were usually Allison's favourite part of the week. Heck, she was a teenager, she lived for them. She always had these great plans to spend her days of freedom with her best friends. Going to the movies, the mall, anywhere where they didn't have to think and worry about school.

Today they still spent the day together, but it wasn't how they had planned. It was a small town, and the news of her mother's passing had spread quickly. Her two best friends had rushed over to her house, and the three of them sat in Allison's room, none of them knowing what to say, or to do.

They held the funeral on the Monday. Allison knew there was a reason she hated Mondays. She and her grandmother walked to the church, their expressions as dark as their dresses. Allison could have sworn that every person she'd ever met in her entire life was there. Everyone from school, every one of her mother's clients and friends and colleagues. Even her grandmother's friends. But there was one person who wasn't there. Her father. She had called him and left a message, she still didn't know why, but she wanted to tell him. She kind of thought she just needed to say it out loud. She didn't come right out and ask him to come, but a part of her really hoped he would.

As the reverend spoke, she looked around the church, but he was nowhere to be found. She really thought that he would come. If not for her mother, who had given him seven good years of her life, and a daughter, than for her. He was her father, and she needed him.

Then they put her mother in the ground. Allison thought that was the most unsanitary, most horrible thing they could do to someone, but she didn't protest, for her grandmother's sake.

She was out of school for a week. She wanted to stay out longer, but her grandmother insisted that she go back. Allison's education had always been important to her mother, and Grandma wanted to get her back into everyday life, and try to live normally again.

The first day was the worst. Everyone was staring at her. People she didn't even know were looking at her with the utmost fascination. A big group of her friends surrounded her, acting almost as a buffer between her and all the questions and condolences. During lunch, one of them, who was the typical class clown, jumped up and knocked his lunch tray over, and then tripped on it, screaming to everyone in the cafeteria, "Hey! Why don't you look over here!" That had helped a little, even made her smile a bit, and she appreciated the effort.

So, just like her grandmother wanted, she went from class to class, and focused, as much as she could, on the lessons. Each day got easier, but she still thought about her mother all the time, and visited her grave often.

Then it all started to spiral out of control. Allison Cameron became a very angry 16 year old girl. Her grades started to drop; she was mouthing off to her teachers and alienating her friends. She blew them off and started to hang with the wrong crowd. Then she developed another habit. Drugs.

Her preferred one was ecstasy, but she experimented with a few others. She loved the feeling of a high, and sometimes it was all she could think about. It had happened. Allison Cameron was a certified junkie. Her former friends hadn't given up on her, and were constantly trying to pull her out of it, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Her grandmother was getting fed up too. It was hard enough raising a teenager at her age, but a rebellious one, that was just more than some townspeople thought she could take.

One day, they had gotten into a huge argument, and her grandmother had said something that rocked Allison to the core.

What would your mother think of this? 

Allison freaked. She started screaming at her grandmother, and even slapped her in her rage. They were both so shocked that they were stunned into silence, and then Allison turned on her heel and ran from the house. She didn't stop till she got to her new best friend's, her drug supplier.

They went out, met up with some people and got high. It was just what Allison thought she needed. She rarely went to her mother's grave anymore. This was her life now. But that small part of her that was still reasonable thought that maybe it was because she was ashamed.

Allison didn't have further time to contemplate this, as the next thing she knew, sirens came around the corner, and before she could react, a cop had pushed her up against the wall, searching her for drugs.

He found some, obviously, and she was hauled off to jail.

Sitting in that cop car was one of the worst moments of her life. It wasn't just the fact that it was uncomfortable, but she really did feel ashamed. She knew the sheriff, and the whole time he was looking at her like he was disappointed in his own child.

After she was booked, she got her phone call. With shaking hands, she picked up the receiver and called her grandmother. Her voice was barely audible when they connected.

Grandma? I need your help.

Even though they had that huge fight, and even though Allison had _slapped_ her, Grandma Charlotte dropped everything and ran to the station. Immediately, the two embraced each other.

I'm so so sorry Grandma. I'm sorry I slapped you, and I'm sorry I yelled at you, and I'm sorry I got arrested, and-

_Shh. I know honey. It's ok._

After her run-in with the law, Allison snapped out of it. She cut all her ties with her "drug buddies", made up with her old friends, and pulled her grades back up. She was the old Allie again. The sweet old Allie.

But she wasn't. Well, at least, the act lasted for a while, but then she started to crack again. She would find herself craving the drugs at the oddest moments. She tried to fight it, she tried so hard, but it seemed like a losing battle. About two months after she had quit cold turkey, Allison got high again.

The difference was this time she felt guilty afterwards. She couldn't let her grandmother or her friends know. She didn't want to let them down again. She also didn't want to be that girl again. So, she hid it, and she hid it well. Nobody suspected anything. During that time, it was like Allison was two different people. The good girl; the one who got the good grades and respected her elders, and the girl who couldn't take the pressure, and had to have an out. It was complicated, living like this, but somehow she managed.

Then it all changed.

Allison sometimes wondered, and still does, how it is that so many bad things can happen to one person. What had she done to deserve all this?

Charlotte was a very old woman. Well, she wasn't really that old, but taking care of her teenage granddaughter, even after her rebellious days were over, was not an easy task. It made her older, but she didn't seem to mind. She loved that girl with every vile of her being. Lindsey's girl. She was so much like her mother, it scared Charlotte sometimes, but other times, it was a comfort.

It had started in the spring. Charlotte was having health problems. She was only in her late 70s, and she thought it was nothing. She could live another 15 years.

It had been so unexpected. Charlotte was home alone, and she was making dinner for her and Allie. As she walked over to the stove to pick up a pot of boiling water, she started to have double vision. Then she started to shake. She dropped the pot, and it crashed to the floor, the boiling water spilling out all over the floor and herself.

When Allie came home, she was horrified to find her grandmother lying on the floor, unconscious.

She quickly picked up the phone and dialled 911. She was scared. She was so scared.

_Please don't leave me_

At the hospital, Allison paced back and forth while the doctors worked on her grandmother. Finally, a doctor came out to talk to her. It wasn't good news.

In early August, Charlotte slipped into a coma. It was un-precedented, and it was a shock to all who knew her. Allison was heartbroken, and she rushed to her grandmother's bedside, sitting there day and night. The doctor told her that it was the stroke, the stress on her heart, and considering Charlotte's age, it wasn't likely that she was going to make it. Allie was 18 now, and since no other family members were still living (her grandfather had died many years ago), the responsibility fell to her to decide what to do with her grandmother's life.

She had the option to pull the plug, but she didn't want to do it. She didn't want to lose the one woman who had stuck by her through everything. She had put this woman through hell, but she still loved Allison more than anything in this world.

But what she hated more was seeing her lying there, lifeless. It was as though she were already gone. So, with a heavy heart, Allison gave the doctors permission to take her grandmother off life support.

Everyone has a turning point in their lives, and Allison's was her grandmother's death. When Charlotte died, Allison was still doing her drug habit every once and a while, but the old woman's passing made her stop, and re-evaluate her life. She decided that she couldn't keep living like this. She owed it to her grandmother, and her mother, and everyone else who cared about her.

In late August Allison packed up her stuff and headed off to NYU. She thought the city would do her good. She loved her small town, but she also had so many bad memories from there. She wasn't going to forget her family, but she had to put it behind her, to move on with her life.

She settled in nicely at NYU. She quit the drugs for good this time, and was enjoying life, being a normal college girl. That is, until the next storm hit.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, I'm being honest with you, I started this part a long time ago, but I didn't finish it till now. Sorry. Please forgive me and R&R.

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It was a warm, sunny day, and Allison Cameron was sitting at a picnic table by the water doing her homework. She was completely relaxed as she sat there, letting the breeze blow through her hair and rifle the pages of her textbook.

She was concentrating hard yet was still aware of the world around her. It was for that reason that she looked up when she heard pounding footsteps on the sidewalk. A man was running down the walkway at full force, and he looked the opposite of Allison. He definitely was not aware that there were people around him. It was like he was in a trance, and he definitely didn't look relaxed.

The man finally stopped to catch his breath near Allison's picnic table. Her brows furrowed. This man looked like he needed someone right now. She got up and headed over to him.

"Hi, are you alright?" she asked cautiously.

He looked up at her, still breathing heavily. "Uh, yeah. Just ran out of air."

"Oh, well, why don't you come and sit down?"

He smiled at her. "Alright, thanks," and they headed over to the table.

She offered him her bottle of water, and he took it gratefully. They sat for a minute in silence, and then the man said something that startled Allison.

"I have cancer."

She didn't know what to say to that. What was she supposed to say to that? She sat there dumbfounded for a moment. Couldn't they have just stuck to small talk?

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "I shouldn't have just blurted that out. It's not your problem. You're a complete stranger."

"Allison Cameron," she said, sticking out her hand.

"Jack Lansing," he responded, taking her hand in his.

"Now we're not strangers."

He smiled at her again. She was really cute. Then he mentally smacked himself for thinking that. She was just a perfectly nice woman offering him some kindness. He really appreciated that. Especially right now.

He stared off into the distance. "I just didn't expect it, you know? It came out of left field. I'm too young to have cancer. I haven't had time to live yet." When he looked back at her he saw her eyes start to well up.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I should go."

"No," she said, putting a hand on his arm to stop him from getting up. "Why don't you stay? We can go somewhere more private and talk. I know a great little coffee shop that's pretty secluded."

"Why would you do that for me? You don't even know me."

"Well then let me get to know you, Jack Lansing," she said, rising to her feet, collecting her books.

"Alright, Allison Cameron. If you're sure you don't mind."

"Of course not." And with that the two headed off down the walk.

It turned out that Jack had just received his cancer diagnosis. It was thyroid cancer, a year tops, and he had run from the building, running all the way to the park Allison was sitting at.

He was scared. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't expecting this. The more Allison listened to him, the more sorry she felt for him, and her urge to help him grew stronger.

When they had finally decided to leave the coffee shop, it was a few hours later, and Allison handed him a napkin with her phone number written on it.

"In case you want to talk some more," she said. "I know we just met, but what harm could one more ear be?"

It turned out there weren't many ears to begin with. Jack wasn't from a big family. No siblings. Just him and his parents, and they were dead. So, despite himself, he wound up calling Allison Cameron.

They got together on a regular basis pretty soon after that. They would talk, about anything. About fears, and life, and the unfairness of it all. What they would like to take back, what they wanted to do before it was too late. They just went on and on for hours.

One day, they were standing outside of her dorm room, saying goodbye for another night. Jack didn't know what came over him, but he suddenly leaned in and kissed her. It was a long, soft kiss, and she responded. But when they pulled apart they both had alarmed looks on their faces.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Jack apologized profusely.

"No, it's fine," she said. "Don't worry about it." She smiled at him and then headed inside the dorm room, saying she'd see him tomorrow.

Tomorrow came, and this time, she reacted differently. They were walking down the pier, eating ice cream. Jack was still a bit embarrassed about what had happened the day before, but Allison made him feel perfectly at ease. It was clear she didn't hold it against him.

They stopped to look out at the water, and that's when she did it. She leaned over and kissed him. At first, he was taken aback by it.

"Are you sure?" he asked after she had pulled away.

She nodded in response, and they went back to kissing. When he finally took her back to her dorm room, they both had huge smiles on their faces, and kissed each other goodnight.

They were just like other couples. They went on dates to the movies, he took her out to dinner, and they just hung out together. They became very good at not letting the cancer diagnosis hang over their heads like a dark cloud of doom.

He introduced her to his best friend, Joe. Jack said he was the only other person in the world that he could trust, and he loved him dearly. He wanted them to meet because, as he put it, "they were both equally as special to him now". Allison felt so honoured to be let into Jack's little world, and Joe became fond of her too.

Five months after he had come barrelling down the sidewalk towards her, Jack proposed. Allison said yes. But even after she did so, and had the ring on her finger, Jack grinning from ear to ear, she questioned it. She really cared for this man, and she did love him, but was she _in_ love with him?

It was a question she pushed to the back of her mind as she dove head first into wedding preparations. She did it in three weeks, which had to be a record, and they decided to keep it a small ceremony.

When she was filling out the wedding invitations, she debated sending one to her father and Sadie and Carrie. Her dad hadn't been in her life much (just a Christmas or birthday card every now and then), and she resented him for that, but her mother and grandmother weren't around, and they were family, whether she liked it or not. Carrie would have been 12 now, and Allison had to admit that she wished she could have been around her little sister more. So, she finally decided to send the three of them an invitation. And maybe Sadie wasn't as bad as she had pictured her all these years.

They came. They actually came. She got a phone call from her dad too, because he wanted to make sure she was serious. She told him she was, and he said he'd love to come.

The day of the wedding, Allison was standing in the designated bride's room, staring at herself in her dress. She was so nervous. A million thoughts were racing through her head, and she didn't know which ones to give further analysis to and which ones to ignore. She found herself wishing for her mother and grandmother to be around more than she had in a long time.

"Can we help?"

She turned to see Sadie and a now much older Carrie standing in the doorway.

"Wow," Carrie said, gazing at her big sister. She looked so radiant in that dress.

"Wow is right," Sadie said, coming further into the room. "You really do look beautiful."

Allison smiled in return. "Thanks."

There was an awkward silence in the room. "Well, we just wanted to see if you needed anything," her step-mother spoke again.

Allison wasn't sure what to say to that. She was grateful, in a way, that Sadie had offered, but she still didn't feel comfortable around this woman, and doubted that she ever would.

"Where's dad?" she asked.

"Interrogating your husband-to-be," Sadie told her. Allison looked horrified. "Kidding! He just went to meet him."

Allie heaved a sigh of relief and turned back to the mirror, attempting to put her earrings in. They were her mother's, and they had been passed down to her after Lindsey's death. Allison valued them greatly, and only wore them on extremely special occasions. Her hands were shaking, and so she was having a little trouble putting them in. Sadie came over to her.

"Here, let me help." She reached forward to pull her step daughter's hair back behind her ear so she could see better. Allison smiled again as she got her earring in. The two women stood there for a moment, as though silently accepting each other for the first time.

Jack said he had the most beautiful bride ever, and he felt like the luckiest man on the planet. To him, Allison was a godsend. She had taken almost all the pain he felt from being diagnosed with terminal cancer away from him. She was his ray of hope, and he was grateful to her for every day she made brighter. "My guardian angel" he called her.

They didn't go anywhere far for a honeymoon. They couldn't, Jack was sick, and they didn't want to risk it, and besides that, they didn't have much money. They spent a weekend at a cozy little log cabin, which they both loved. In some ways, it was more romantic than a trip to Paris would have been.

For three months, they lived like normal newlyweds. But then Jack started to decline faster than he had been before. She took him to the doctor, and it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to his brain; there was nothing the doctors could do. They were both devastated. Jack tried to hide his disappointment from his wife, but it was hard.

He was admitted to the hospital and she came by whenever she could, and so did Joe. There were good days and bad, but through it all Allison never gave up on him. Eventually, she was there everyday, a constant by his bedside, and he appreciated it dearly.

But the cancer was affecting him. Sometimes he forgot who she was for a little while, and where he was. It scared her, but it passed. She was holding it together pretty well, but then he had a bad day, and it would end up changing things for Allison.

He was in a really bad mood. He was being rude to the nurses and everyone else he came in contact with. When Allison got there, a nurse had warned her about it, but she brushed it off. This man was her husband. He wouldn't push her away.

She was wrong. He had gotten so angry with her for no reason, and it had completely shocked her.

"You aren't making things better! You're making them worse! All you do is pity me! That's the only reason you're here! That's the only reason you married me!"

Allison couldn't take it. She ran from the room, and down the halls, tears streaming down her face. She would have kept running, but just as she turned another corner she crashed straight into Joe.

"Allie, what's wrong?"

She didn't respond, she just buried her head in his chest and cried. Joe wrapped his strong arms around her, and tried to soothe the pain. Finally, the crying slowed and he led her to a couch in a nearby waiting area to sit down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me what happened."

"He…he thinks I don't love him, that I just married him because I felt sorry for him. He said he doesn't want me around."

"He doesn't mean that. It's just the cancer talking. He loves you Allie," Joe tried to reassure her.

"How do you know that? How do I know that? He could be right. Maybe that is why I married him."

Joe was silent for a moment as he looked at her. "Well, if that is the only reason you married him, he's still the luckiest guy on the planet, and he shouldn't care how he got that way."

She finally cracked a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

They went on for another three months, and then it finally came to an end. Jack Lansing passed away on a cold March morning, with Allison and Joe by his bedside. His last words to his wife were telling her how much he loved her, and he made her promise to move on with her life, and be happy. Allison found that she couldn't even think about being happy in the future right now, but she promised him anyways, just to give him peace.


End file.
